• This year’s fund will support the creative projects of 10 developing independent acts with grants of up to £8,000

• More than 30 artists have benefitted from Step Up funding since 2022

• Today’s announcement coincides with The Great Escape, where the Featured Artists Coalition are co-curating the conference programme and several previous Step Up awardees are performing

• Full details here

• The deadline for applications is May 31st. Do not delay! 

The Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) and Amazon Music, are delighted to announce the return of Step Up - the fund that supports upcoming independent music artists and helps them expand their creativity. 

Now entering its fourth year, Step Up has provided grants totalling £250,000 to over 30 UK bands and solo artists across a multitude of genres - helping them pay for new recordings, underwrite the costs of live touring, as well as marketing, PR, video making and other content creation. 

Artists who have benefitted from the Step Up since 2022 include Azekel, Aziya, Amie Blu, BEKA, Chalk, CHERISE, ELKKA, Friedberg, Jalen Ngonda, Joel Culpepper, Lime Garden and Nix Northwest.

Applications for 2025’s Step Up Fund open today with a deadline of May 31st. 

Click here for full details. 

Fittingly, today’s announcement is being made during The Great Escape (TGE), the UK’s best-known showcase festival for new music. 

The FAC are playing a prominent role at the event, joining with other members of the Council of Music Makersand the Association of Independent Music, to curate today’s TGE conference programme and place a spotlight on the challenges faced by the next generation of musical talent. 

These challenges are typified by the “cost of touring crisis” that has seen a dramatic inflation of the financial expenses shouldered by artists when they perform live shows - a subject the FAC took to Parliament earlier this week in a high-profile appearance at the Culture Media & Sport Select Committee. 

Last year, more than 60% of applications for Step Up funding were for domestic live touring support. 

David Martin, CEO, FAC: 
“With The Great Escape conference kicking off today, and the FAC shining a light on the opportunities and challenges faced by developing artists, it feels hugely appropriate to open applications for another year of Step Up with our friends and partners at Amazon Music. From our campaigning and advocacy work, we understand the innate costs that artists are having to shoulder when developing their careers. That’s why this funding is so important. It’s an investment in creativity, and it can make a huge difference to all who receive it, as well as to the future of music talent in the UK.”

Laura Lukanz, Head of Music UK, Australia & New Zealand, Amazon Music: 
"Over the past four years, The Step Up Fund has supported over 30 artists across the UK, and we’re proud to be working alongside them again for the 2025 edition. It's an important initiative that helps independent artists at a crucial stage in their journey, and supports them in moving their careers forward. We're looking forward to reviewing this year’s applications and discovering more standout talent, as we’ve been fortunate to do in previous years."

Meanwhile, two of 2024’s Step Up awardees - Olive Jones and SOFY - will perform in Brighton as part of the official Great Escape line-up. 

SOFY plays Charles Street Tap today at 1.30pm, while Olive appears tomorrow (Friday) 7.45pm at Revenge as part of an Earth Agency showcase. 

Olive Jones: 
“As a fully independent artist, the FAC Step Up Fund has enabled me to release my first body of work and to elevate my artist career to the next level. The general support from the FAC has made me feel like part of a community that wants to help me achieve my goals, create opportunities for me and offer guidance and advice in an industry that can often feel like the Wild West. I’m so grateful to be a part of the FAC family and recipient of the Step Up Fund.”

SOFY: 
“We’re so grateful to FAC and Amazon Music, the Step Up Fund allowed us to accept opportunities to play overseas, which we wouldn’t have otherwise been able to do.

We also sold out our UK headline tour and the funding helped us to make the most of this opportunity and level up our live shows.

SOFY recently sold out London’s iconic 800-capacity Scala in support of her latest mixtape, Another Day In Paradise, which was released through Chess Club Records. Meanwhile, Olive supports MRCY later this month at shows in Bristol and London. 

Applications for the Step Up Fund are welcome from any UK-based music artists from all genres, including solo artists, group members, or multidisciplinary artists.

To apply you must:

● Be aged 18+

● Be a UK resident

● Not have an ongoing agreement with a major or large independent record label, or be in receipt of a large advance

● Not have significant financial backing

● Already have an active career and be able to clearly demonstrate your work to date

● Have released at least three songs within the last year, with a minimum of 15k streams per song or one song with at least 45k streams on a chart eligible, UK streaming platform

● Be the featured artist

● Plan to deliver your supported activities within 12 months of accepting the grant

● Confirm you will make yourself available for a content shoot day in early July

● Confirm you will make yourself available for a quarterly Step Up meet up (in person/Online)